‘Obasanjo still a factor in PDP’

Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Chief Joju Fadairo, in this interview with JEREMAIH OKE, speaks on President Jonathan’s re-election bid, the Ogun PDP crisis and other issues.

Do you think the performance of President Jonathan is enough for him to contest next year?

Although Jonathan has not declared his intention to contest in 2015, but nothing stops him from contesting. He has done well in the area of constructions and transportation. One of the necessities of life is shelter and that is why he is doing housing projects across the country. In terms of infrastructure and employment which I believe he needs to do more, I think he will be justified in the forthcoming elections. Also, the way he has put women in his cabinet is unprecedented, nobody has even done that in Nigeria history.

You said he needs to do more on youth empowerment and unemployment?

Yes. Few days ago, Jonathan was addressing youths on the way and strategies he has put in place to make them happy, which I believe he will soon carry out. I know he has put in place some agencies that will empower the youth so as not to engage themselves in violence or hooliganism. But let me tell you, the youths who are not myopia to see what he has done will vote for him and return him as the next president.

Why are you insisting that he must return, even without visible achievement?

I have enumerated some of his achievements and you are asking me if I really want him to return in 2015. You are wicked for saying he has not done anything. He is in my party and I want him back because he has performed well.

Northern elders have given the president Jonathan ultimatum to return the Chibok girls or he should forget about the 2015 election…

The Northern elders are not God. If I say Jonathan will be there and God says no, there is nothing I can do because the will of God must prevail. Let me tell you, all these social vices we are experiencing in Nigeria are not peculiar with Nigeria. Jonathan cannot do more than what is doing because he has done many things to ensure that the menace of insecurity stops in the north but the northerners are not helping matters. If they insist, they will continue with their crisis in the North because there is no Igbo or Yoruba man that is among the people threatening the peace of their region. It is their people who are killing them to distract the government. I think the northerners should help Jonathan with this Boko Haram of a thing rather than adding more to the problem because they know who are behind it and they should proffer lasting solution to it. They should forget it, Jonathan is coming back in 2015.

Do you think your party is on ground in the Southwest?

We are solidly on ground in the Southwest. Things cannot be going on well all the time. Crisis is synonymous to human being especially in politics. Between husband and wife, father and children there is always crisis but conflict resolution approach must be adopted. There must be time that thing will be rough or they experience misunderstanding. There was a lot of misunderstanding in the party before, but in the last four months, I can tell you we have done a lot of reconciliations and we are back on ground. It is true that some desperate politicians left our party. But, that does not say we are not on ground.

Some people are of the opinion that without former President Obasanjo the party can win elections. Don’t you think he is still relevant in the party?

He is relevant. Anybody who says Obasanjo is no more relevant is entitled to his opinion but to me, he is very relevant and we need him the more. As a human being, you have right to you views and opinion. Obasanjo has never said he is no more in politics so I don’t know how people will say such thing when he is still a factor in the party. He is still in politics.

He is in PDP. If he is not attending meetings and he is still in the party that does not mean that he is not relevant in the party. He was the former chairman of the party BoT, former president elected under the platform of the PDP and he had said it time without numbers that he is a member of the party. If anybody now says without Obasanjo we can’t win election, I will never be part of that. He has his own role to play, which I am convinced that he will play and he will continue to play.